It might not have been their 'A' game, but Davon Streeter and
the Snyder boys basketball team did what was necessary to secure their 11th
win of the season in the opener of today's Dan Finn Classic.

With star scoring guard James Richardson bottled up and limited
to just seven points -- well under his season average of 21.5 points per game -- Snyder grinded out a 44-38 verdict over Pascack Valley
at the Jersey City Armory. Streeter, a senior, led the charge with nine points,
while William Conyers added eight.

"Every game is not going to be a good game," said Snyder
coach Shelton Gibbs. "But as long as they never give up and keep fighting,
that's the key."

Pascack
Valley took its first and only
lead of the game at 32-29 with 3:23 to play in the third quarter on a 3-pointer
from Kyle Onderdonk. But Richardson
responded immediately with his only 3-point field goal of the game, and then
dished to Tyler Caldwell in transition, as Snyder regained control at 34-32 – a
lead they would not relinquish.

Snyder squandered an 11-point second-quarter lead and
watched Pascack Valley (6-6) get to within two points
(25-23) by halftime. The Jersey City
public school's offense stalled during that stretch, as the Tigers too often
settled for perimeter jump shots – a formula Gibbs knew his team could not
sustain.

"We settled on jump shots too much. We settled down and I
told them we needed to get more dribble penetration," said Gibbs.

While Snyder didn't fully rectify its offensive issues in a
second half that saw the Tigers scored just 19 points, Gibbs' crew closed out
the victory by ratcheting up its defensive effort in the fourth quarter. With
three steals in the final frame, Snyder held the Bergen County
school to just four points in the final eight minutes of play.

"That's the type of team we are. We're always the under dog,
we never give up," said Streeter, who was named Snyder's Player of the Game.
"It was a little frustrating, but knowing that I have a good team like this, we
have a lot of chemistry."